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Summer Camps Can Reopen at Full Capacity if Kids and Counselors Are Vaccinated, CDC Says

The updated rules come as the agency predicted that COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations will decline over the next month.

The CDC announced Friday that adolescent and teen summer camps are allowed to reopen at full capacity with no mask mandates on the condition that both campers and staffers are fully vaccinated. There is also no need for social distancing, surveillance testing, and quarantining those who may have been exposed to the virus, the new guidelines say. The updated rules come as the agency predicted Friday that COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations will decline over the next month as a result of vaccinations across the United States. Despite the leniency of the guidelines, the CDC says everyone should still respect people who choose to wear masks and emphasizes that their guidelines are intended to “supplement—not replace—any federal, state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which camps must comply.”

Since children under 12 still cannot receive the vaccine, the CDC has a separate set of guidelines for camps who anticipate having both vaccinated and unvaccinated participants, which includes having the unvaccinated wear masks and social distance.